Air travelers and federal workers at Newark’s airport reacted with reserved optimism Friday to President Donald Trump's announcement that the federal government, partially shut down for a record 35th day, would reopen for three weeks to allow Congress to hash out a plan for increased security at the nation’s southern border.

Trump’s announcement will ensure that some 800,000 federal workers either furloughed or forced to work without pay would finally start receiving paychecks again, but the three-week window for Congress to reach a deal seemed to some like a wobbly reprieve that could quickly plunge the government back into closure if a deal isn’t reached.

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Planes at the gate in Terminal A at Newark Airport. Some traveller experienced the effects of the Federal shutdown while traveling in and out of the airport in Newark, Friday January 25, 2019. Tariq Zehawi, Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com

Planes at the gate in Terminal A at Newark Airport. Some traveller experienced the effects of the Federal shutdown while traveling in and out of the airport in Newark, Friday January 25, 2019. Tariq Zehawi, Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com

Travelers checking in for their flight at Newark Airport. Some traveller experienced the effects of the Federal shutdown while traveling in and out of the airport in Newark, Friday January 25, 2019. Tariq Zehawi, Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com

Travelers at Newark Airport. Some traveller experienced the effects of the Federal shutdown while traveling in and out of the airport in Newark, Friday January 25, 2019. Tariq Zehawi, Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com

The arrivals board shows air traffic control delays at Newark Airport. Some traveller experienced the effects of the Federal shutdown while traveling in and out of the airport in Newark, Friday January 25, 2019. Tariq Zehawi, Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com

Travelers checking in for their flight at Newark Airport. Some traveller experienced the effects of the Federal shutdown while traveling in and out of the airport in Newark, Friday January 25, 2019. Tariq Zehawi, Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com

Travelers wait for their luggage at Terminal C at Newark Airport. Some traveller experienced the effects of the Federal shutdown while traveling in and out of the airport in Newark, Friday January 25, 2019. Tariq Zehawi, Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com

Maria Renda, a resident of Hunterdon County, said she was concerned that the short-term deal would ultimately mean no funding for Trump’s proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. She heard the news while waiting for her flight from Newark to Australia.

“I do not trust [Nancy] Pelosi or cryin’ [Chuck] Schumer,” Renda said. “I don’t trust her, I don’t believe her, I want Trump to be careful with her because she is not doing anything for the country, she is just doing it for her political agenda. They don’t care about us, they don’t care about these illegals, they just want to keep the Democrat party going.”

Travelers at Newark Airport. Some traveller experienced the effects of the Federal shutdown while traveling in and out of the airport in Newark, Friday January 25, 2019.(Photo: Tariq Zehawi, Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com)

Renda said she is happy to see impending relief for government employees, however.

“I haven’t been affected by the shutdown but I can appreciate not having a paycheck for about a month now,” she said. “It’s a good agreement for the people who have not been paid, I feel bad for them.”

Some of the 2,500 members of the Transportation Security Administration employees union heard news of the agreement while handing out bags of donated food from two box trucks at the Newark airport Friday. They were handing the bags filled with granola bars, crackers and other non-perishables to fellow TSA workers.

“I really hope this will lead to a more lasting agreement,” said Thomas Schoregge, vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 2222, which represents about 2,500 TSA workers in New York and New Jersey.

He said TSA workers are backed up on bills given that they have now missed two paychecks over the past month. It may take them months to catch up financially, Schoregge said.

President Donald Trump speaks Friday in the Rose Garden of the White House.(Photo: Evan Vucci, AP)

Also on hand was Gino Morales, another TSA union vice president. He said the agreement was merely a Band-Aid, and something more lasting was needed.

Some other members said they feel they were being used as pawns in the battle.

Megan Blanchard, a Boston resident flying out of Newark on Friday, said she was sickened that the shutdown had gone on for so long.

“I am happy that something is happening at this point,” Blanchard said.

She was adamant that a border wall not be part of the final spending plan.

“I am absolutely, 100 percent not for it,” Blachard said. “I think there’s a meme out there that’s like, ‘If you build a wall, I’m going to build a staircase,’ so that’s how I feel about it.”

Another traveler, Ellen Pascale of Long Branch, said she pinned blame for the pain from the shutdown squarely on Congressional Democrats. But she said she had nothing but respect for TSA workers. “They’re working hard at their jobs despite all this,” she said.

Traveler Michael Shapiro, who was here on business and was waiting for his flight home to Los Angeles, had a different take on the shutdown. “No president should hold a gun to Congress’ head and say, ‘This, or nothing.’ That’s not the way negotiations are supposed to be done.”

Gov. Phil Murphy, while expressing satisfaction that the shutdown had ended, still questioned why it had to occur in the first place. “I’m pleased to see the President finally end his shutdown, allow our federal government to reopen, and pay our federal employees the salaries they are owed,” Murphy said in a statement.

“But it’s impossible to understand why he insisted on the damage done the last five weeks,” Murphy added. “Over 800,000 federal workers, including thousands right here in New Jersey, were forced to go a month without a paycheck, pushing so many working families into desperation. They deserve better, and I hope the President understands how destructive it is to play politics with people’s lives.”